PEF fights to reform Juvenile Justice











The Communicator articles relating to Juvenile Justice - 2009

- Family Court judges take closer look at youth placement - Dec. 2009/Dec. 2010

- OCFS incidents escalate, PEF responds - Nov.2009

- U.S. report cries 'reform' in state’s juvenile justice system - Oct.2009

- Deaths, riot prompt demands to revamp juvenile justice system - Jul./Aug.2009

- Few PEF bills survive legislative turmoil - Jul./Aug.2009

- PEF members confront Governor over budget cuts - March 2009


Family Court judges take closer look at youth placement


DISCUSSING REFORM — Experts gathered at The New School in New York City in October to discuss ways to reform New York’s juvenile justice system. The event was sponsored by the Center for NYC Affairs. Shown are: Sylvia Rowlands, director of the Blue Sky program; PEF Executive Board member and OCFS youth counselor John Ruiz; Assemblyman William Scarborough; Larry Busching, chief, Family Court Division, NYC Law Dept.; and Tamara Steckler, Legal Aid Society. — Photo by Michael Paluszek

By DARCY WELLS
There is room for improvement in New York’s juvenile justice system, but labeling the entire system a failure is doing a disservice to all those involved, according to PEF President Ken Brynien.

Brynien, an active member of the governor’s Task Force on Transforming New York State’s Juvenile Justice System, has reached out to all judges presiding over family court proceedings in New York, warning of the dangers of shifting troubled youths from state-operated detention facilities to privately run agencies.

Brynien wrote a letter to the judges in response to a memo the union recently obtained.

The memo went to judges statewide, presiding over family court proceedings and was issued by the two supervising judges of family courts both in and outside of New York City. It was in response to a recent visit by state Office of Children and Family Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion.

According to the memo, Carrion acknowledged to the judges the conditions, described in a recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice identifying problems related to the care and supervision of youth in OCFS facilities, are systemic of all facilities.

“Instead of trying to fix the problems, the commissioner is advocating closing some upstate OCFS facilities and shifting youths into voluntary agencies,” said Brynien.

“Family court judges need to be aware of the mismanagement, understaffing and lack of accountability at these voluntary agencies.”

In the letter to the judges, Brynien said PEF is fully aware of the need to reform the juvenile justice system, but dumping youths into privately-run facilities is not the answer.

“Commissioner Carrion has identified the problem areas: lack of adequate mental health services, lack of special education teachers and a need to move toward a therapeutic, rather than a correctional, model of rehabilitation,” Brynien said.

“Our members who work in these facilities agree with those findings. Now, let’s work toward implementing needed changes, not shifting responsibility for rehabilitating youths to less accountable, less transparent programs.”

Brynien said the union will continue to fight any further proposed closures of OCFS facilities.

“We are committed to repairing the system and working with management to achieve that goal,” Brynien said.

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OCFS incidents escalate, PEF responds

By DEBORAH A. MILES
The second annual report on Workers’ Compensation claims ranks the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) as the most dangerous agency in which to work in New York state.

Claims spiked from 14.7 percent to 19.6 percent according to the 2008-2009 annual report for state employees released by the state Department of Civil Service.

The report covers claims from accidents and injuries between April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009, and reported through June 30, 2009.

“The Workers’ Compensation report verifies there has been a huge jump in staff assaults at OCFS,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “OCFS leads in incident rates, even higher than the state Department of Correctional Services and Office of Mental Health.”

Since the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a highly critical report in August on the deteriorating conditions at OCFS facilities, PEF has boosted its fight against the failed public policy involving the residential placement of juvenile offenders and delinquents.

In early September, Brynien wrote to Gov. David Paterson saying the DOJ report focused on the violation of civil rights of juvenile offenders. He urged the governor to mandate OCFS officials to meet with PEF representatives to develop a reform plan.

“Unfortunately, OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion has made the professionals who work for OCFS the target of her reform, rather than her partner in reform. Under her leadership, the safety of youth and staff has gone from bad to worse, and is beginning to impact the community at large,” Brynien said.

PEF pointed out the Workers’ Compensation findings and offered recommendations at a public forum on the juvenile justice system held at The Center for NYC Affairs at the New School, October 20.

John Ruiz, a PEF Executive Board member and a youth counselor at OCFS, told the panel union representation is critical in developing a workable reform plan that would protect the juvenile offenders as well as the staff.

“Our counselors, teachers, psychologists and social workers are dedicated to improving the juvenile justice system,” Ruiz said. “The system needs to be revamped to focus on prevention and teaching staff non-verbal, verbal and defensive intervention techniques. The emphasis should be on recognizing early warning signs of agitation and learning de-escalation techniques and skills.”

PEF also is recommending hiring more mental health staff to ensure each youth entering an OCFS facility is assessed for their trauma history and trauma triggers, and provided appropriate individualized therapy.

“The goal of therapy would be to help these youths recognize trauma triggers and symptoms and develop coping mechanisms. It is essential to develop specific calming techniques that work with individual youths,” Ruiz said.

“PEF has listened to its staff of professionals and wants to share their expertise with OCFS,” Brynien added. “Our intention is to provide guidance and the necessary mental health techniques to soothe this injured juvenile justice system, and keep our work force free of assaults.”

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U.S. report cries “reform” in state’s juvenile justice system

By DEBORAH A. MILES
The U.S. Department of Justice recently issued a scathing report on conditions at four state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) facilities.

It cites the conditions at Lansing, Louis Gossett Jr, and the Tryon Boys and Tryon Girls Residential Centers, and documents the results of a failed public policy toward residential placement of juvenile offenders and juvenile delinquents.

Much of the report echoes what PEF has been bringing to the attention of legislative leaders and OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion for nearly two years.

“The current policies and procedures at youth residential centers aren’t working,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “Not only are they endangering the welfare of the youths detained in these facilities, they have caused sometimes irreparable harm to the employees who provide services to our troubled youths.

“The commissioner’s zeal to transform the state’s system by moving youths into communities and closing state facilities exacerbates the very conditions the commissioner sought to correct.

This has led not only to a deterioration of service levels at the facilities, but to everyone’s worst fear – the brutal murder of a young group home employee by a youth inappropriately placed in a community setting in Lockport,” Brynien said.

The murder followed the January shooting of a Rochester police officer by a youth placed in a community residence by OCFS, and a riot and frequent AWOLS from Randolph Children’s Center Home in Cattaraugus County.

“The state’s approach has been a correctional model with minimal staffing and minimal focus on education, mental health, alcohol and drug treatment,” Brynien said. “The professional staff who work in the system must be a solid partner in reform. Our PEF-represented counselors, teachers, social workers, psychologists and nurses have tremendous knowledge, experience and commitment.”

The DOJ report includes extreme deficiencies in mental health care, an area consistently reported by PEF members and backed by studies. More than half the youths in juvenile justice facilities carry a bona fide mental health diagnosis, compared to 15 percent to 18 percent in the general population.

Brynien accepted an invitation to further discuss PEF’s response to the DOJ report at The Center for NYC Affairs at the New School in a public forum on the juvenile justice system.

The public forum is being scheduled for this fall.
Carrion is expected to be on the panel even though the family of Renee Greco has called for Carrion’s resignation. Greco, 24, was bludgeoned June 8, allegedly by two youths at Avenue House, a privately operated group home in Lockport. Greco’s family is holding Carrion ultimately responsible for the death.

“Our troubled youths need and deserve our help and guidance to turn their lives around,” Brynien said. “Reform as mandated by the Justice Department is the first step in the right direction. PEF looks forward to working with OCFS to ensure positive changes take place.

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Deaths, riot prompt demands to revamp juvenile justice system

By DEBORAH A. MILES
The state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has taken a radical new direction the past two years under Commissioner Gladys Carrion, a direction PEF warned would be costly.

Unfortunately, it took the death of 24-year-old Renee Greco who was bludgeoned June 8, allegedly by two youths at Avenue House, a privately operated group home in Lockport, to raise the final red flag that the state’s juvenile justice system is out of control.

Greco was a counselor at the OCFS- licensed facility where 17-year-old Robert Thousand and 18-year-old Anthony Allen, are charged with killing Greco to cover-up a $160 theft that occurred in the home.

This was not an isolated tragedy.

OCFS has been moving juvenile offenders and delinquents out of more secure state-run facilities and into communities.

On June 23, a teenager was arrested for a murder committed May 30 in Brooklyn. The teen was in an OCFS aftercare program and was released from a limited-secure residential facility March 30 despite concerns about his release from staffers.

At the end of May, a dozen youths from the privately operated Randolph Children’s Home in western NY, fought with police and staff, forcing authorities to use pepper spray to quell the melee.

And PEF has received numerous complaints from members who work in OCFS facilities, stating Carrion’s changes have created a breakdown in discipline, causing a violent environment where troubled youths assault staff and gangs intimidate other youths.

“Someone needs to be held accountable for these deaths and the way the juvenile justice system in New York has deteriorated,” said PEF President Ken Brynien.

Lawmakers, community members, youth facility staff and police are pointing the finger at OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion.

State Sen. Catharine Young recently announced the creation of a Special Legislative Task Force to fix the broken juvenile justice system.

Young also is calling for an investigation into the placement of the two youths charged with the Lockport murder questioning whether an unsecure facility was the proper place for youths with violent criminal backgrounds.

And Young is pushing for a wider investigation of the cutbacks and policy changes under Carrion’s command.

In the last year and a half, OCFS has closed 13 juvenile facilities and downsized three, as a cost-savings measure. Carrion has stated her focus at youth facilities is to promote recovery, healing and growth. Instead, according to PEF members from the Tryon Residential School for Girls in Johnstown, the new method has resulted in a total breakdown in enforcement of discipline and led to increased violence among the youths and against the staff.

“Through her spokesperson, Commissioner Carrion has implied that facility unrest is due in large part to employees’ intransigence to change from a correctional to a therapeutic environment. This is not only incorrect, it is insulting,” Brynien said. “Our members, including teachers, counselors and psychologists, have dedicated their careers to changing the lives of troubled youths. They now find the environment within OCFS is too unsafe and dysfunctional for them to effectively do their jobs.”

The Tonawanda News reported June 16 state Sen. George Maziarz and Assembly Member Jane Corwin met with OCFS administrators in Albany and quoted them as saying the meeting was “very disappointing.”

Brynien said Gov. David Paterson needs to hold Carrion accountable for her actions and the direction she has taken OCFS.

“Our goals for troubled youths must be balanced by public safety, safety of staff and safety of the youths. These tragic deaths bring us to the conclusion the commissioner has crossed the line.”

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Few PEF bills survive legislative turmoil

By SHERRY HALBROOK
The 2009 New York State legislative session has become one for the history books, setting a new standard for poor productivity, particularly in the state Senate.

As this issue of The Communicator goes to press July 1, the state Senate remains paralyzed by a political stalemate caused by the defection of a Democrat, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx, leaving each party with exactly 31 votes.

Although Espada changed his voting allegiance, but not his party enrollment, it has allowed both sides to claim control of the Senate. Neither negotiations, pressure from Gov. David Paterson, nor efforts to have the courts resolve the issue have relieved the paralysis.

Passed in both houses
Before June 8, just three bills PEF supports were passed by both the Assembly and the Senate. These bills, all sponsored by Assembly Member Peter Abbate Jr. and Sen. Diane Savino, are:

• S.1407/A.3427, which would extend the effectiveness of provisions of the state Civil Service Law which create a procedure to enjoin improper practices temporarily where irreparable harm might otherwise result. This bill has been signed into law;

• S.2312/A.5808, which would extend for another two years certain temporary benefits and pension supplementation programs for retired public employees. This bill was sent June 19 to the governor for his signature or veto; and

• S.5503/A.8254, which includes a section that makes minor technical corrections to implement the terms of the PS&T contract ratified in 2008. Paterson signed this bill into law.

Passed in the Assembly
The state Assembly recessed June 22, after passing 20 more bills of importance to PEF, including three opposed by the union.

Perhaps most significant, however, was a bill the Assembly did not bring to the floor for a vote: the bill to create a new Tier 5 for the state pension system and which would apply to employees hired after July 1, 2009. Paterson has been counting on a new Tier 5 to save most of the money he says is needed to avoid 8,700 state layoffs.

Neither has the Senate, which Paterson has forced to “meet” daily since June 22, acted on his Tier 5 proposal.

The three bills PEF opposed that were passed by the Assembly are:

• A.1039/S.396, which would authorize the city of Albany to impose a residential parking-permit system that would disadvantage state employees who work downtown;

• A.3233A/S.4790, which would establish a state Office of Child Advocate for youths in programs and facilities under the state Office of Children and Family Services.
Among the 18 bills PEF supports that passed in the Assembly, two would directly affect state nurses.

Bill A.1752A/S.3527, the Nursing Care Quality Protection Act, would require hospitals to publicly disclose the number of licensed nurses (RNs and LPNs) providing direct care, the ratio of RNs to patients, and other information such as the number of adverse patient-care incidents, medication errors, patient injuries, and the number of complaints filed with regulatory agencies.

Bill A.3103/S.4018 would make it a felony to assault any RN or LPN.

The PEF Nurses Committee spent June 2 meeting with key legislative staff in the state Senate to advocate for safe staffing and safe lifting bills. However, less than a week later, the Senate coup shut down all productive action in that house.

Two of the bills passed by the Assembly supported by PEF try to establish pay equity and curb pay discrimination based on sex, race or national origin.

Another bill would protect the quality of air in state buildings. And two bills introduced by Assembly Member Richard Brodsky would impose greater accountability on independent public authorities and limit their use of subcontractors.

The Assembly also passed a bill, long sought by PEF, to stop the assignment of state parole officers to collect supervision fees from parolees.

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PEF members confront Governor over budget cuts

Story and photos by DEBORAH A. MILES
Gov. David Paterson held a series of “town hall” meetings in late January and early February to hear what New Yorkers have to say about the state’s fiscal crisis.

PEF members attended the January 30 meeting held in Johnstown at Fulton-Montgomery Community College. More than 300 people came to question the governor and listen to his responses.

About a dozen people were selected to ask the governor questions, and the focus was on cutbacks in every area of state government, from programs for youths to higher taxes, and the elimination of the state’s school-tax-rebate program.

The governor listened carefully, but his answer to almost all the questions was the same.

“I think people really don’t understand how bad our economy is,” he said. “When we cut programs, it’s because the circumstances are that dire. We are going to have to recognize that everybody in the state is going to have to share in the sacrifice.”

Before the meeting began, Paterson met briefly with PEF and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members outside.

PEF Region 6 Coordinator Bob Varano and a handful of members who work for the state Office of Children and Family Services at the nearby Tryon Campus listened as the governor said everyone has to cut back. Paterson said he would meet with union leaders before adopting a final budget.

“We don’t want PEF’s proposals to go by the wayside,” Varano said. “We want the governor to support the union’s principles and to see us as a problem solver. We don’t want to see layoffs. The governor should consider dropping consultant use in the state and imposing a tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers, instead of the middle class.”

Paterson did not commit to raising taxes on the wealthy. When asked at a press conference after the meeting if he would seek layoffs in the state workforce, Paterson said he would seek concessions from labor unions.

Paterson was well received at the event, despite his ongoing message the state is in its worst fiscal shape since the Great Depression. He is the first governor to visit Johnstown since Nelson Rockefeller, who left office in 1973.

PEF Division 218 member Bill Agresta, a vocational instructor at Tryon Boys Campus, said his purpose for being there was twofold.

“I’m concerned about the closing of beds at OCFS facilities,” Agresta said. “Everyone is concerned about the governor’s proposal to close the $15.4 billion budget gap with more than 137 new taxes and fees that critics say would directly hurt the middle class. It’s time to tax the rich.”

Paterson quoted a Chinese proverb during the discussion. “Within every crisis, there is an opportunity.

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